Arizona’s passage of SB 1070 (and subsequent passage of some amendments in HB 2162) heated up the national debate on illegal immigration. One important issue that this law highlights is that many of the concerns related to illegal immigration in border states could actually be solved through a change in national drug policy. As usual, Gov. Gary Johnson is right on target with this one.
Arizona State Senator Sylvia Allen recently explained her support for Arizona’s new anti-illegal immigration law in SB 1070:
The people who live within 60 to 80 miles of the Arizona/Mexico Border have for years been terrorized and have pleaded for help to stop the daily invasion of humans who cross their property . One Rancher testified that 300 to 1200 people a DAY come across his ranch vandalizing his property, stealing his vehicles and property, cutting down his fences, and leaving trash. In the last two years he has found 17 dead bodies and two Koran[s]. Another rancher testified that daily drugs are brought across his ranch in a military operation. A point man with a machine gun goes in front, 1/2 mile behind are the guards fully armed, 1/2 mile behind them are the drugs, behind the drugs 1/2 mile are more guards. These people are violent and they will kill anyone who gets in the way.
* * *
Federal prisons have over 35% illegal’s and 20% of Arizona prisons are filled with illegal’s. In the last few years 80% of our law enforcement that have been killed or wounded have been by an illegal.
I have not verified her numbers, but her explanation of support for SB 1070 inevitably pulls into the debate the seemingly-obvious fact that she is actually concerned with the impact that the “War on Drugs” has had on a border state. Indeed, Reason’s Steve Chapman points out that an increase in illegal immigration across the border into Arizona has not, actually, led to an overall increase in crime:
It’s no surprise that Arizonans resent the recent influx of unauthorized foreigners, some of them criminals. But there is less here than meets the eye.
The state has an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants. But contrary to myth, they have not brought an epidemic of murder and mayhem with them. Surprise of surprises, the state has gotten safer.
Over the last decade, the violent crime rate has dropped by 19 percent, while property crime is down by 20 percent. Crime has also declined in the rest of the country, but not as fast as in Arizona.
Babeu’s claim about police killings came as news to me. When I called his office to get a list of victims, I learned there has been only one since the beginning of 2008—deeply regrettable, but not exactly a trend.
Truth is, illegal immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native Americans. Most come here to work, and in their desire to stay, they are generally afraid to do anything that might draw the attention of armed people wearing badges.
Chapman’s analysis, however, fails to consider whether drug crimes and violence related to drug crimes has been on the rise. Certainly based on the anecdotal evidence Rep. Allen described, that seems to be the case. Which would suggest that, while we clearly have national problems with our current immigration policy, perhaps the bigger and more immediate problem that we should address is our problematic drug policy. When Gov. Johnson’s Our America Initiative weighed in, it noted:
[T]he increase in crime along the borders is not due to illegal immigration, but to strict drug prohibition laws that provide increased leverage and power to Mexican drug cartels. “The problem is that the federal government is not able to do its job, because the current laws are just not enforceable. I respect Arizona taking action, and I believe strongly in States’ rights. But this law is just not well grounded. We need to implement an immigration policy that allows for better documentation and more easily obtainable permits for temporary guest workers to fill jobs that are available.” Johnson said. “In addition to citizens being stripped of their rights and subjected to unfair searches, this law is ultimately unfair to law enforcement, who will be left to implement a law that although well intended, is misguided in its attempt to reduce border crime, and is bound to have undesirable consequences.”
Here is a recent interview with the Gov. on pot and border politics:
Gov. Johnson is on target, let’s hope people are listening.